Between 2010 and 2015, worldwide wine consumption is expected to increase by 2 billion bottles.
Even in an age of trillion-dollar government debt, 2 billion is still a big number.
The forecast, made by International Wine & Spirit Research, assumes an annual consumption increase of 6.17 percent. If that happens, by 2015, consumption will reach 2.844 billion cases (with a dozen 750-ml. bottles per case).
China is expected to play a big role in those numbers. From 2009 to 2010, wine drinking in that country increased by 33.4 percent, and China now ranks fifth among all countries.
(A concern there is the growing number of “knock-offs” — bottles that don’t contain what their labels say they do, or with labels that look like famous brands but really aren’t. But that’s another blog for another day.)
Of course, the one thing that the study can’t control is Mother Nature. Consumption can increase only if production increases, and the tonnage of the annual winegrape harvest worldwide is largely a function of the weather.
But if Mother Nature does cooperate, one question remains pertaining to the anticipated growth in worldwide wine consumption: Will you do your part?
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Source: http://westernfarmpress.com/grapes/global-wine-consumption-set-increase-2-billion-bottles
